The politicians in Washington have not been able to compromise, at least not yet, and their failure has brought America to the abyss just a week before August 2, when the debt ceiling must be raised so that the U.S. government will not default and be forced to cancel its payments.

Despite long and intense negotiations, the parties are still far apart. Last Friday, the House of Representatives Republican President John Boehner left the negotiating table for the second time, and an angry, almost bitter President wondered whether the Republicans can say “yes” to anything.

Unsuccessful negotiations continued during the weekend between party leaders in Congress, and today, the Democrat leader in the Senate Harry Reid and the Republican Speaker John Boehner presented separate proposals as solutions to the crisis. But the two proposals differ substantially, and the chances for reconciliation and compromise seem minimal even though Ezra Klein in his Washington Post blog outlines a possible way for the two sides to come together.

Meanwhile, the impasse continues and the uncertainty and anxiety have increased noticeably in recent days. The world’s stock markets today reacted negatively to the deadlock in Washington, and tonight, President Obama addresses the nation, underlining how serious the situation is, although everyone stills says that the debt ceiling will be raised.

But how, when each side consistently trashes the other’s proposals, and when ideology consistently trumps good sense and pragmatism?

The inconceivable — that the world’s largest economy with AAA rating could soon be unable to pay its debts — can no longer be excluded.